How to kill your boss
by xXkana-chanXx
Summary: AU Smart and sassy Rukia falls in love with her boss at first sight. She speaks with him in person, and falls out of it immediately. It doesn't take more than a week to realise that he is the very embodiment of evil spirit, and soon, plotting his horrible death becomes her favourite pastime. Only, she ends up killing him, metaphorically, in other ways...
1. The most embarrassing day of my life

**AN: **Hello! This is my first Bleach fanfic! Pleae read on and tell me what you think about it. Rating is M for slightly mature contents.**  
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**The most embarrassing day of my life**

It was Love at First Sight. As corny as it sounds, and as unbelievable as it is, I, Kuchiki Rukia, fell in love with my boss the very first time I laid my beautiful (if I may say so) violet eyes on him. It was my first day at work, and I was _so_ nervous and excited as a newly recruited, waiting to be escorted to my own department where I'll be spending most of my waking hours. And then, _he_ appeared, stepping up to the podium in front of the small meeting room. The orange-haired Greek god in all his Armani-suit glory! I stopped breathing for a full 3 seconds; it felt like the longest 3 seconds in my entire life! Then my heart started hammering loudly in my ears. I could feel my face slowly warming up to a blush. At that moment, I knew he was the One.

He opened his mouth to say something, but I couldn't hear anything, nor did really I care. I focused on his lips working their ways to form the words in slow motion and I had to swallow hard. Oh, those lips! I was practically beginning to pant. My eyes roamed over his body on their own volition. He was tall and lean, just how I liked my man to be. He was wearing the standard – and boring – black suit with a white shirt and navy blue tie, but I'd never seen anything so stylish or becoming on a man of business. Well, it _was_ Armani after all, but that's beside the point. He had long, _long_ legs that seemed to go on forever and the way he stood on his left leg with his hand shoved in his pocket just screamed the bad boy sexiness! He waved his other hand in the air as he was trying to make a point to the other recruits – that included me too, of course, but as I said, I was not listening. Strong-looking hand with long fingers… That thought alone sent a stirring shiver down my spine. _OK, I gotta calm down and think straight!_ I reprimanded myself. But my gaze returned to his face, and I nearly began to drool. He had a beautiful jaw line, as if it was chiselled ever so carefully by a master sculptor. It was set hard, which could have indicated his stubbornness, but I liked my man to have some backbone. And his lips! It was a wonder that I'd not melted at that spot and turned into a puddle of soft creamy custard. There was something so… _sensual_ about the way he moved his lips to speak. The way only a corner of his lips would lift sometimes to give him a cocky impression.

And his eyes! They were the intense amber that I've never seen on other people before. They looked so serious, accompanied by his frown. Huh, his frown? He was frowning? No, it looked more like a scowl. But he didn't look angry or annoyed. The scowl seemed to be his usual facial expression. I was just beginning to daydream what his face contorted in ecstasy would look like, when I felt those strong eyes looking straight in my direction. Maybe I was imagining things, but his scowl deepened. Eh? Eh, eh, eh? Whoa, was he really looking at me? My mind screamed. A little flustered, I turned my head sideways to make sure he _was_ looking at me, and found out that actually, everyone was looking at me. Eh?

"Are you listening?" he spoke in a low husky voice. Oh, my days! That's the voice I've been tuning out until now? I groaned inwardly. He lowered his eyes to my chest and I nearly blushed. But I knew he was just looking at my name tag because the next thing he said was the sexiest thing I've ever heard in my short life.

"Kuchiki."

On a normal day, I'd have wished the ground to open up and swallow me then and there – no, on a normal day, I'd rather die, quartered and left for wild animals to feed on than be caught _gawking_ at my boss; but instead, when I heard him say my name like that, I just wanted to purr and wrap my tail around his leg. That is, if I had a tail.

"Yes, sir," a weird squeaky sound came out of my mouth and I had to clear my throat. "I am listening, sir. Please, continue."

Unfortunately, he continued to scowl at me and some of the other girls giggled. I laughed drily myself and tried to look demure. I had made an impression on him – whether good or bad, I'll worry about that later – and now he knew my name! I squealed in my heart like a hyperactive teenage girl high on an extra chocolate bar. I knew I was going to love working at this company with him.

Boy, was I ever so naïve.

"Okay people," he continued, with a distinct sigh of resignation. "Now, I'll take you to the office and allocate a desk for each of you, though for the first few months you guys won't be sitting at those desks most of the time. Instead, you'll be staying close to your assigned mentors, which I'll hand out the list in a moment, in order to learn what's going on. The mentors are either senior analysts or associates, in other words, your direct superiors and you will be taking your daily instructions from them. Any questions so far?"

I had to fight the urge to shoot my hand up and ask him if he had a girlfriend already. I know, it sounds so juvenile and corny but that's how he made me feel!

He moved towards the lift and we followed him in. The list of mentors was being handed out.

"Don't worry too much about the first few days, because honestly, there's nothing much you can do right now. But we will train you. We will teach you to be efficient and creative; we'll improve your problem-solving skills, analysing skills, even interpersonal and presentation skills. Soon you'll be contributing one hundred and two percents of your potential to the Seireitei and making a real impact to the lives of the people around us. You are handpicked by _us_, the best among the bests, so be proud, brag and boast or whatever but most of all, be competent and professional!"

Everyone was touched and rather overwhelmed by his speech. I wondered if he was the head of HR or something. But he looked too young to be a head of anything.

The lift made a 'ding' sound and the door opened.

"Welcome to the Seireitei Corporate."

My eyes met with the typical image of a busy office, buzzing with people talking, discussing, typing furiously at the keyboards, shouting on the phones, running about with piles of paper, dropping everything they were carrying, throwing calculators at each other (huh?) and swearing when the said calculator hit the head of receiver.

"It's kinda chaotic right now cuz of the system break down at Rukongai just last night," my Prince Charming added apologetically. "So that's it from me, people. Now scram."

I gazed fondly at his retreating back and sighed contentedly. _Bye for now, my darling_, I thought to myself. I vowed that as long as we were in the same company, he'd hear about me soon.

We the new recruits found desks with our names on and began to settle down. I sat on the comfy looking wheeled chairs that can turn round and round, and swept my hands on the light beige desk. So this was me. My place. My little territory where I can work as hard as I usually do, enjoy interacting with many different people, and get recognition as the best junior analyst by my Prince so that he'd be awed by my brilliance and kneel in front of me to confess his eternal love for me. (OK, I'm sounding corny again…) Ah, that was the time when I could still dream. I was still so young and inexperienced, which I'd realised just a day later.

"So who's your mentor?" the girl on my right-hand side asked. She looked like a pleasant enough girl but rather dull. Not too bad for my first office friend.

"It says here 'Kurosaki Ichigo'. I wonder who it is…" I said.

"What?" the girl bent down and gripped the arms of my chair hard. "Your mentor is Kurosaki Ichigo? And you don't know who he is?" she nearly screamed in my face.

"Well, seeing as this is our first day at work…." I replied, accentuating _'our'_ for her benefit.

"He's the guy who just showed us around! You know, the orange-haired _hunk_! Didn't you hear him when he introduced himself?"

Well, obviously, no. I was too busy drooling over him. So she thought he was a hunk too. I wondered if I'd have a lot of competition. Hold on, if my Prince was Kurosaki Ichigo, that meant…!

"He's my mentor?" I shot up from my chair and stared into her eyes.

"You are very lucky, Miss Kuchiki," the girl said. "Not only is he the hottest guy around here, but he's also the youngest person to have been promoted to a junior partnership ever in Seireitei, and I heard a rumour that his income has finally hit that dreamy six-figure number recently. All that accomplishment and only twenty-eight. He's one of the biggest catches in business world!"

I narrowed my eyes and glared at her.

"How do you know so much about him?" I asked.

"Office gossip, my dear," said the other girl on my left-hand side. Unlike the pleasant looking girl, she was very striking and… Well, very _voluptuous_. Her cream coloured shirt looked like it was about to lose a few buttons around the chest area and pop open. I felt myself pouting, looking at her well endowed erm, _assets_, which didn't need to be encased in an expensive push-up bra to create any semblance to a cleavage. Like some people. Like me. _Grrrrrrrr._

"But we just arrived," I replied. "When did you have time to gossip?"

"You are a rather slow top, aren't you?" the big-breasted girl spoke in her sing-song voice, her eyes half closed in a seductive way, and I glared at her. "As soon as they sent me the Congratulation-You-are-Accepted letter, I searched everywhere on the internet for juicy bits of gossip about Seireitei and its workers. Need to be prepared for what you are about to face, you know."

"As for me, I paid a visit to the secretarial department on an Open Day for some info," the pleasant girl said. "Always the right place to go if you wanna know the behind-the-scene facts."

Both of them giggled. I was left to look like a fool who did not do her homework for the biggest moment of her life, but instead of being indignant, I decided to act indifferent.

"I'm not very interested in gossiping."

"Oh, _sweetie!_" I scowled at Mrs Cow Breast for her patronising endearment. "But Office Gossip is the only life you'll ever get in an office!"

"That's sad," I said.

"Working _is_ sad," she replied, patting her auburn hair lightly. "I'd rather be pampered to death by a rich husband with streams of diamond necklaces, sapphire earrings, private spa and masseur in your house, limousines, fur coats and…."

She finished her sentence with a loud moan and I cringed. What was up with her?

"You're funny," the mousy girl giggled. I almost snapped and fumed at her. No self-respecting girl would ever find that little charade funny! Women shouldn't degrade themselves as to willing to become a part of men's trophy. We women were equal in strength, intelligence, motivation, stamina and so on, if not better! There was no reason at all to belittle the position of women like that! And… I'm digressing from the main point… All those words squirted up my throat but I patiently forced them down. I knew these girls would just look at me as if I'd just sprouted another head on my shoulder, like my old friends used to do. They told me I was 'weird'. I told them that I was merely standing up for my own sex. Seriously, if we don't protect our own worth, then who's gonna do it?

Anyways, while my office neighbours discussed and giggled about the rich bachelors presiding in Seireitei over my head, the interphone on my desk rang. It was beeping red and the little screen on it showed the caller's number, 1501. All three of us looked at the phone and I felt a sudden rush of gratification and reality filling my belly. _I really was a part of the Seireitei Consulting Corporate!_ It was good to know.

Nervously, I picked up the phone.

"Hello?" I said, cautiously.

"Please come up to my office, Miss Kuchiki," said the voice of a man I've been fantasising about since… half an hour ago. He didn't even bother to identify himself, but I just knew it. Before I could say anything in reply, though, he hung up and all I could hear was the _beep beep beep_ of the after tone. Straight to the point and no beating about the bush. Very good. _Very_ good! I liked him more and more by the minute!

"He's calling me," I told the other girls.

"Who is?" asked the mousy girl.

"Mr Kurosaki."

"That was quick," the sexy one whistled low.

"He must be very eager to start!"

"Now, remember sweetheart," the big woman dragged my chin with her fingers and pulled my face closer to hers. I know I am a female species, as well as her, and I am damn straight, but I still found her pheromone-filled allure irresistible. She blew lightly on my lips and I gulped loudly. "Kurosaki Ichigo does not have a six-figure income for nothing. He was not promoted to a junior partner in just five years for slacking either, you know. Be sure to expect many sleepless nights of unceasing work, and work, and work!"

She pronounced 'work' as if she was saying the s word.

"I – I'm not afraid of working hard," damn, I stuttered.

"Sure, sweetie," she said, releasing my chin. "You definitely look like it."

"I better get going…" I stood up with a notepad and pen in my hands.

"Oh, by the way!" the sweetly mousy girl interrupted me with an exclamation. "I'm Hinamori, Miss Kuchiki. Hinamori Momo."

I knew that from the beginning. We were all wearing friggin' name tags! I just didn't want to acknowledge that I was on the 'name' basis with these gossipy girls. On the other hand, I wasn't such an icy bitch as some people made me out to be.

"Rukia is fine," I told her with a smile.

"Then you must also call me Momo," she returned the smile and asked the girl on my left hand side. "Can I call you Rangiku too?"

"You can call me Ran the Sex Bomb, babe," she said and Momo giggled. _Weirdos_.

I left them to chatter away and floated away to meet my Boss/Prince Charming/the One. However, I had to stop and turn back to those girls only after a few steps.

"Where is his office?"


	2. Let me introduce myself first

**Let me introduce myself first…**

Before I go into the details of my first personal meeting with my boss, I must explain something. If you'd met me for the first time on that orientation day, you'd probably think I'm just an airhead as much as Momo and Rangiku. But if you've known me for my entire life, then you'd probably choke on the air and cough until your face becomes blue. _I_ am Kuchiki Rukia. _I_ do not gawk at my superiors. _I_ do not gawk at all. _I_ do not fall in love with a man whom I don't even know the name. _I_ do not behave like an adolescent girl just because of a hunk. _I_ am Kuchiki Rukia, the sensible, rational and quick-witted Kuchiki Rukia. I was the blue-stocking of my group, a real stickler for diligence and school work. I wasn't a nerd or anything, I just strongly believed in what my older brother used to say ever since I was small; _the one who don't work don't deserve to eat._ For Descartes it was _I think therefore I am_, but as for me it was _I work therefore I am_.

I graduated with a First Class Honours in finance and did my master's degree at a prestigious Business School, which my brother liked to boast about to his associates in his quiet manner. I knew Byakuya was proud of me, even if he didn't say anything. He wasn't very talkative or expressive about his feelings but ever since our parents died in an airplane crash when I was only 12 years old, it's been just the two of us. He came for my Parents' Evenings at school, sat in the audience, albeit with a pained expression on his face, throughout my Talent Shows, held a hot water bottle against my lower abdomen, when I had my first period and the useless pain killers did not make my cramp go away, all night without complaining. He was the one who threatened my first boyfriend that he'd blow the poor boy's head away if he kept me out later than nine in the night. (Gosh, nine? Was he really serious?) He cooled my forehead with a cold tower when I had fever, spanked a fifteen year-old me mercilessly when he caught me trying to sneak out of our house in the middle of the night to go clubbing – that was the first and the very last time I tried to sneak out of the house, _ever_ – and was the tower of strength when I was writing my final thesis to earn my degree. He was the one who stood proudly beside me in my graduation photo. In short, I loved him. The blockhead didn't even get married so that he could take care of his baby sister and he was already thirty-three! He kept saying that he was just not interested, but I know better now. I'd seen him on countless nights where he tried to drown his loneliness with a glass of Single Malt whisky, straight up. I was his world, pride and the closest being to his heart, but there were still some things that a ten years younger sister couldn't relieve off him.

So, to make up for his sacrifice, I worked hard at becoming the perfect little sister for him. And I actually enjoyed it. I loved it when Byakuya would have that faint smile on his lips when I top the class in the finals. I excelled at everything; studies, sports, music, socialising, everything. Perhaps, with a little exception in the game of _l'amour_.

On that fateful (fatal?) first day of my career, I saw Kurosaki Ichigo and fell in love with him. That kind of thing had never happened to me before. I didn't believe in love-at-first-sight until then. You can't just fall in love with a _handsome face_. What would you do if he turned out to be a handsome chauvinistic control freak and a sadistic fuck-wit, who'd resort to wife-beating in the future? What if he picks his nose and tries to hump you in public, with that handsome face of his? No, no, no. I didn't feel safe enough to fall in love with someone unless I really knew them. That's why my very first boyfriend was my long-time childhood friend, Abarai Renji, and my college sweetheart was a family friend and senior in uni, Shiba Kaien. Lacks spontaneity? Yeah, but I like playing safe with the matters of heart. Some of my friends called me prudish, and when they do they'd either get a smack on their heads or a very _very_ long lecture on why you shouldn't rush into a relationship merely based on the looks from me. The thought that maybe those two previous relationships I'd had with my exes didn't really work out due to the lack of that _spark_ never entered my brain. I'd known both Renji and Kaien practically for all my life. I was just upgrading the usual group dinners or parties to private and more intimate dinners or parties. Love? Of course I loved them! I still do. They really are very good friends of mine, still.

But I didn't know anything about Kurosaki Ichigo. Oh, yeah, now I know that he's the youngest junior partner in Seireitei, a brilliant business man, hottest bloke in town, with a six-figure income and only twenty-eight. But the moment I fell in love with him, I knew nothing about this man except that he was handsome indeed! I didn't know about his background, his family, nor his personality, his fortes or faults, where he'd studied, why he was frowning so much, or how he treated his women. If he already had a girlfriend or even married! All the way to his office that morning, I was so nervous that my old habit of biting my fingernail nearly resurfaced. But I couldn't bite my nail now. I was an adult. A competent, professional adult.

Kurosaki Ichigo's office was on the 15th floor, that _corner_ office everyone coveted for. When I knocked and opened the door with a shiny golden name plate on, I found myself looking at a very homey foyer. The carpet was greyish light blue and the wall was whitewashed. There were plants in large pots in corners, next to comfy looking leather couches. Soft music was playing quietly in the background. The area looked bright and welcoming.

"Ah! You must be Miss Kuchiki!"

A ginger-haired girl shot up from the secretarial desk. Unfortunately, her huge breasts were the first thing I noticed and I groaned to myself. Meetings with Rangiku and this secretary were not doing much to boost my feminine ego.

"Mr Kurosaki has been waiting for you," she chirped happily. Yeah, you must be very happy. "I'm his secretary Inoue Orihime, very nice to meet you."

She got out of her seat and led me to another door in the room.

"Although Mr Kurosaki is your mentor, he's a very busy person so I'll probably be delivering his daily instructions to you myself. All this work and business world can be quite daunting at first, but I'm sure you'll get used to it in no time at all."

She knocked on the door and we heard a loud _'Yes!'_ coming from inside. Here we go.

"Mr Kurosaki," said Inoue, holding the door open. "Miss Kuchiki is here."

"Come in," he said, a bit tartly, and I revelled at his beautiful husky voice again. He didn't look up as he was shuffling through some paper on his desk and Inoue let me in and closed the door. Now it was just the two of us. As I nervously made my way towards him, he finally looked up. I gulped. He frowned and knotted his fingers together in front of him. "Sit down."

I felt his eyes scrutinising me in an appraisal and I fidgeted to pull my pencil skirt down when it rode up to my mid-thigh as I took a seat across his desk. I know he'd seen what I was trying to do because when I lifted my eyes up to look at him, he was smirking. Damn, he looked so hot smirking! And he made me feel so small.

"Well," he started. "First of all, welcome to Seireitei. As you know, we are what people would consider one of the Big Four in this corporate world, and we provide excellent and innovating services to all our customer, and blah blah blah."

Then he sat back, placing his arms on the armrests and crossed his legs.

"That's what I was telling everyone just now, which you obviously were not paying much attention to."

My face burned instantly and I hoped I did not look like a ripe tomato with steam coming out of my ears. He searched my face challengingly and seeing my discomfiture, he smirked again.

"Now, I'm a very busy man," he continued, "I already have a lot of work to do, considering there's only 24 hours in a day, so I don't take on the mentor job, normally. I don't know what the fuck the HR was thinking, asking me to take care of a mere fledgling like you, not to mention this morning's ridiculous orientation. Fact is, the _only_ reason you have me as your mentor is because the higher ups like you."

"I am aware of the honour, and I assure you…"

"You can assure me whatever you like, my dear," he said. "But working with me would require a whole lot more than wearing miniskirts and playing house with your colleagues."

I think my mouth was gaping, literally, at this point. My brain couldn't process anything he was telling me as it became completely blank, but I knew one thing by instinct. He did not use the words 'my dear' as an endearment.

"You'll be out in the street in no time if you think working in a major company like Seireitei is only an extension from your happy-go-merry college life. This is real life, Miss Kuchiki, and if you think you can get away with not paying attention from the very first day, then you'll be disappointed to find out that I don't tolerate such behaviours in my subordinates."

My cheeks blanched. Oh my God… did I say that I'll worry about whether the impression I made on him was good or bad later? It was time to worry already! He thought I was a clueless featherbrained loose _bimbo_. I had lost all of my credibility with him already, and it had only been an hour since I started my career! And he was serious. All traces of barest smile were gone from his face. Actually, he was frowning at me again, and his stern expression was enough to evaporate my ulterior fantasies to complete dryness

"I'd like to apologise for this morning's inexcusable behaviour, but I do assure you that I don't normally act so carelessly. It was just a very rare, one of a chance thing." Yes, I don't fall in love with a total stranger every day, you know! "But, I wish you won't judge me too hastily on a one hour acquaintance."

"Unfortunately, Miss Kuchiki, I strongly believe in first impression."

"Then give me another chance to make an impression!" I exclaimed. How stubborn could he be? The least he could do is to listen! He looked at me quietly and sighed.

"Whether I like it or not, you are here, as a lawfully employed member of the staff, so I'm guessing your track record isn't too bad. Or…" he looked straight into my eyes. "What is your connection to Kuchiki Byakuya?"

I didn't even have to think twice before I understood the hidden meaning behind his question. My white face became flushed all at once, not from the embarrassment and guilt I'd been feeling so far but from indignation. It was not the first time someone treated me in this way because of my brother's fame and status in this world.

"My brother has nothing to do with me getting a job at Seireitei!" I cried out.

"I never said he had, did I?" said Kurosaki smoothly. "So he's your brother. Just a coincidence that he happens to be working in a very close partnership with Seireitei higher-ups."

"If you are implying that there's been something backhandedness in hiring me," I started but he waved me off nonchalantly. He has such a twisted personality! Thank God he showed his true colour this early in our acquaintance and that I was falling out of love with him… or was I?

"Miss Kuchiki," he said. "Please don't let us get hot-headed."

"I never get hot-headed, sir," I told him firmly and he chuckled lightly again. And I hated him all the more because he looked so cute and suave at the same time, that little devil!

"I am not implying anything here; only that I and other executive members have worked with Kuchiki Byakuya before. He has an excellent head for business, that man."

"I'll be sure to convey your compliments," I told him darkly. A corner of his lips lifted and to me, he seemed to resemble the devil himself again.

"Don't," he said. "He regards me as something of a heretic, for having climbed the social ladder so rapidly in such a short time. He thinks I'm gonna slip at any time and fuck everything up."

"You don't like Byakuya," said I. It was more of a statement than a question.

"As I said, he is an excellent business man."

"But you don't like him."

"Well, two like poles are known to repel."

"I do wish you won't judge me with a biased eye," I told him adamantly. There's always the last hope.

"Miss Kuchiki, whether I change my opinion of you or not will entirely depend on you."

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**AN**: Hello! First of all, let me say a big thank you to everyone who left a review for last chapter! Thanks so much for encouraging me to write on. Hope I didn't disappoint with this chapter.. It's not as funny as last one, but this had to be done... ^^; Anyways, please tell me what you think about this chapter as well! It helps me to edit and upload the next chapter earlier ;) Thanks~


	3. The Devil Incarnate

**The Devil Incarnate**

Oh, boy, am I tired…. Dead-beat… worn out… totally knackered. And it's only been a week in Seireitei! Talk about a job that drains your soul right out of you. So it was a Friday night, about 10 pm when I checked the bedside clock, just before falling face down onto the bed. And I had no idea how long ago that was. I'd remained in the same position ever since. Not a muscle moved. I swear, it would have taken a bull dodger to pull me off the bed, which had become my favourite place in the world lately!

Then my mobile rang. I groaned loudly, but I still refused move. It rang about three times and stopped. I smiled satisfactorily and rubbed my face on the pillow. Did I give a shit about my make-up getting rubbed on it? Hell no. Not at all! At some corner of my brain, it kept nagging at me that I need to get up, wash myself and change into pajamas but I ignored it with relish – leave me alone! _It's finally Friday, and I'm going to do whatever I want to do now!_ I screamed to myself.

The mobile rang again, and I shouted mysterious things into the pillow. Why couldn't they just let me be a couch potato for once in my life…? It was probably Ran or Momo. We were supposed to go for drinks after work today, with some other colleagues to get to know each other better. But that was for those who could spare their time and mind into having fun; which was not me. And for those ewho could leave work on time; which _also_ was not me.

Did I mention that it has only been a week in Seireitei? Felt like a year already! And I'm already working late hours and writing a full market analysis reports into the wee hours of the night. My eyes were blood shot and I had bags under them. Not in my best condition to socialize with other people. All because of just one person. One devil.

Oh, my God, this Kurosaki person liked to work his subordinates to death! I'm sure he's enjoying bullying me now! I'm sorry if I sound like a drama queen, but I can't think of it as anything else! Mean guy! Wicked, _wicked_ incorrigible man!

After our first horrible meeting, I don't know how I made my way back to my office. My office! I hadn't even done any real work in that place, and my boss already thought that I was a useless bimbo! My boss whom I thought was the One! I couldn't stand it. Forget about my feelings for that heartless, prejudiced Kurosaki. This had to do with my career! My one goal in which I hoped to excel and survive to be a victor! It was really very stupid of me to let my thoughts wander off – what can I say, I was busy falling in love… - but did my little blunder that morning really deserve such a severe reprimand? What, did he find me ogling at him so disgusting? Well, I'm sorry for thinking that you are the hottest and finest male specimen I've ever encountered so far! Argh!

"So, how was he?" asked Ran. She and Momo had been waiting for me in anticipation. I was still boiling from the meeting with my boss, aka the One (supposedly), aka my Prince Charming (until 3 minutes ago), and so I couldn't muster my sense in time.

"He is such a bitch!" I screamed, and my new friends laughed.

"I told ya," said Ran. "He's a serious workaholic, and rules with an iron rod."

"If it were anybody else, I'd have clobbered him in the face!"

"Now, calm down, Rukia," said Momo. "He may be a bitch but he is also your direct superior. You're gonna be working very closely with him for God knows how many months. Let's just say, you'll have to swallow whatever he throws at your way with a smile on your face."

"Gosh, I'm not here to simply suck up to my betters, you know!"

"Maybe he was just having a bad day," Momo tried to cheer me up. "Maybe he will improve on acquaintance, who knows?"

Ran murmured something of an agreement and we all got ready to head out for the 10.30 training course. That biased, prejudiced, stubborn man! I was going to show him! I was going to prove that he was very wrong to have judged me at my worst moment – I now realised love is miry – and he was going to eat his words, apologise for his stupidity; he might beg for my forgiveness, but I would never ever forgive him! Then I would laugh at his despair and kick his arse for being a prat!

However, for all my determination to extract my revenge on him, I couldn't get the bitter taste of being disliked by the man I fell in love with out of my mouth.

At the end of the day, I came home and called my brother immediately. I knew Byakuya too well, but I just had to ask him. I had moved out of our family house once my job was decided, and he bought me a small studio flat, not so far from Seireitei. I argued that I would gladly pay for the rent until I could afford to buy one myself, that I wanted a real independence from him, but he wouldn't listen. He was so dogged about this, saying that it was the least he could do. Maybe he was just so glad to be rid of me, finally. Who knows? Anyways, so I accepted his help with a grateful heart and now lived in a small but cozy flat.

"Rukia, how was your first…" Byakuya spoke in his usual calm voice through the phone, but I cut him off.

"Hey, bro, did you pull any strings to get me a place in Seireitei?"

I might have been a little hostile. I was still angry, and I'd have gladly bit off anybody's head within my reach. Byakuya didn't say anything for a long time.

"Did you expect me to?" he answered with a question in the end.

"NO! But today…"

"I'm disappointed, dear sister. You are already paying attention to office gossips."

"No, I am not," I said, irritated and rolled my eyes.

"It's true that I do business with Seireitei, but I have never mentioned the existence of a sister who had just applied for a position of analyst to any of them."

"To be honest, Byakuya, I didn't really think you would," I sighed.

"Then why do you ask?"

"It's just," I stopped and considered how I would word what Kurosaki had implied without telling my brother about my blunder, and thought better of it. "Never mind."

I could picture Byakuya with a raised eyebrow as a short silence followed.

"So," he continued. "How was your first day?"

"Peachy," I said, dripping with sarcasm. It came out before I could stop myself.

"Elaborate," he told me. Quite firmly. He was not satisfied. I groaned inwardly.

"It was just the first day, what can I say? It was all orientation and meetings today."

"Do you think you'll be happy there?"

Oh gosh. Up to this moment, I still don't know why my eyes began to fill up with tears just then, listening to my brother's unknowing and kind voice. Maybe because I knew he loved me, which meant that at least somebody in this world loved me, even if my boss didn't. It was not the end of the world.

"Yeah, I made a couple of friends today," said I, swallowing a lump that was coming up my throat. "I've been dying to work at Seireitei, and all the seniors look so competent. I think I'll learn a lot from them."

"Remember, you are not alone. I am always here for you. If you feel that you wish to come back, do so. Don't even suffer to ponder pointlessly. You are always welcome."

"Okay," I whispered, desperately trying to hide my sob.

"Are you eating well?" he asked out of blue, destroying all the emotions he worked up in me in a second.

"For Christ's sake, Byakuya, I am not a baby!"

"No, but you are my sister."

"Your competent, reliable and smart sister."

"Who likes to feed off on grass and cream cheese."

"It's called vegetable, dear brother," I rolled my eyes.

"Make sure you eat enough eggs and meat for protein."

"Yeah, if I can be bothered to cook."

"Will you come home for weekend?"

"If I can wake up!" I laughed.

"Take care of yourself, Rukia."

"Cheers, Byakuya."

We wished each other a good night and hung up. Still the tower of strength, that brother of mine. Yeah, I was the competent, reliable and smart Rukia. I'll show Kurosaki who is the bimbo. I'll keep wearing my miniskirts, breeze through whatever works he throws at me, and in the end I will make him eat his horrible and unjust words about me. Let's see who crumbles firsts, you or me…

* * *

Tuesday, after another team orientation Inoue called me to take some things Kurosaki had left for me. They were files and files of past case studies, organised neatly in a thick folder.

"You are to read all of them and write reports for each case including summary, analysis and evaluation," she smiled rather apologetically.

"No problem," I answered confidently.

"If there's any question, you can call me. This is probably the first time you are doing anything of this sort, so I'll understand if there's a thing or two you need clarified, but it's better to not disturb Mr Kurosaki so…" she waffled.

"Will do."

"Erm, Mr Kurosaki usually stays in his office until about 10 pm, so you can hand the reports to him before that."

"You mean today?" I snapped my neck to turn to her.

"Erm, yes…?"

"All of them?"

"Erm…."

"Okay, he'll have them all by today," I told her in determination, unyielding to pressure.

In the end, I finished writing reports for all of the case studies at 9.45 pm (Ha! Take that Kurosaki! I finished earlier than expected!), skipping lunch and dinner without regrets and brought them up to Kurosaki's office with relish. I sniggered to myself imagining what his face would look like when he read my excellent reports. His office was locked…

I screamed many unspeakable curses in my heart and kicked his door, many times. That man was just so… Argh!

Wednesday, another team orientation in the morning and I went back to Kurosaki's office to submit my reports. Inoue welcomed me and told me to leave them with her.

"Ah, no, I'll give them to him myself."

"Erm, but…" she looked a bit nonplussed. I narrowed my eyes at her, but walked right into Kurosaki's office with my nose lifted high.

"What is it?" he asked curtly. Oh gosh… it had been a day since I heard his voice, and it was just making my legs wobble, all over again. Damn that man…

"I brought the reports you asked me to finish yesterday," I spoke with deliberation.

"Leave them there," he said curtly, again. Kurosaki hadn't even lifted his head from his desk.

"I came last night too, but you weren't here."

Just when I thought he'd ignore me forever, he said, "I had a dinner appointment with clients, so I left early."

Then you could have told me so, you nasty man, instead of making me work my ass off until 10! I swallowed everything that came up to my mouth and put on a hard smile on my face.

"So, did it go well?" I asked pleasantly.

He finally looked up from his papers and just looked at me. Then he smirked slowly, and asked me with his eye 'Who do you think you are to ask me that?' Cocky bastard.

But I am ashamed to say that I backed out of his office quietly. Score, 2:0. The devil still triumphs.

Thursday, the whole day was spent in team orientation and training courses. A short respite from my devil.

Friday, he didn't call me for the entire day. There were no more orientations so I was free the whole day. Ran and Momo went off to shadow their mentors. Oh, by the way, I'd already met their mentors during one of the team orientations. Momo's was an expressionless woman, who didn't talk much and never smiled, called Kurotsuji Nemu. She was a bit hard to get along at first, but once we began to talk, she wasn't too bad. Ran's mentor was one of the senior partners, called Unohana Retsu. I hadn't known Rangiku for a long time then, but I could still see that she was unusually timid around that formidable woman. She could make Ran behave, just with a smile from her eyes. As I said, formidable. My mentor was, of course, too busy to show his face.

Anyways, back to Thursday, my friends were not in the office and I was jobless. I called Inoue many times, and even barged into her place, but she kept saying that Mr Kurosaki was extremely busy and she was ready to block me physically this time. So I spent most of the day just flipping through the case studies he'd given me before, making my own OJT notes. Ran and Momo came back around 4.30 and as I chatted with them I thought maybe I could go home on time today, finally!

My interphone rang exactly at 4.55 pm; just 5 minutes before end of the day. Of course, it was my dear boss, Mr Kurosaki.

"Come up, please," he said.

Ah… Whoever said that please was a magic word? It was just a cheap way to camouflage a command into a polite order! But did I have a choice? No. He was my boss, and I worked here. Grrr!

"You called?" said I, when I got to his office. Inoue was already gone and Kurosaki was, as usual, too busy to look up.

"Yes, I called," Kurosaki replied roughly. "I need those files organised and data registered on company server."

"Erm, okay…"

"They are urgent, so move!"

"You need them by today," said I, more of a statement than a question, which made his head shoot up again. It seemed like I was getting better at making him look at me. Only, he'd look at me with those mocking eyes.

"I said they are urgent."

Yes sir, of course, sir, who the fuck cares that today was Friday and the day has officially ended exactly 2 minutes ago. You say it's urgent, then it's urgent. You couldn't have asked me to organise them during the day when I had really nothing much to do. You just had to stop me from going home. C'est la vie!

I said a sad goodbye to Ran and Momo, as they left to enjoy their Friday night. They said to call when I finish the work, but I had no idea how long it'd take me to do it. In the end, I finished everything he told me to do around 9.30 pm, but I was not in the mood for drinks. I headed home straight away and fell right onto my bed, where I had been… I guess maybe for past hour. One little comfort was that Kurosaki was still working when I called him to say that I'm done. That workaholic bastard had better just die under the load of work he seemed to be doing.

I was just about to get up to brush my teeth at least, when my phone rang for the third time. I swore loudly and looked at the caller's ID. It was an unknown number. Frowning, I answered it with suspicion. If this was anything other than earth-shattering important, I was going to cut off the head of the caller.

"Hello," I said in my most unfriendly tone.

"Were you sleeping?" said the voice through the phone. No greeting, no identifying himself. And I hated myself for recognising the devil at once!

"Mr Kurosaki?!" I jumped off the bed in shock. "How did you get my numbers?"

"Is it really important?" I could picture him scowling. "I needed it, so I got if off from someone."

I'd be lying if deny that my heart fluttered for a second. Oh dear, why was he calling me? On a Friday night…?!

"Erm, okay. Sorry. So… what's the matter?"

Could it be…?

"Meet me tomorrow," said Kurosaki.

Yikes! Holy cow, was he really asking what I thought he was asking…?!

"At 9 am," he continued.

Meaning, the first thing in the morning?! He wanted to see me the first thing in the morning on a Saturday?!

"I'm gonna hold a business meeting with the clients and I need some usher."

Yes, he needs some usher! I'm going to… hold on. Did he say business meeting…? An usher?!

"Understood?" he asked harshly, seeing that there was no answer from me. I was thunder-struck.

"You mean you need me to work tomorrow?" I nearly whined.

"Yes," he said. "Is there a problem?"

"But tomorrow is a Saturday," I did whine, in the end.

"So?!" Oh, my God, he is so heartless…

"Mr Kurosaki, you can't just call me at 11 pm to order me to come in on a Saturday to work! To be an _usher_!"

"Oh, I can't, can I…?" said my boss menacingly. I groaned out loud and he continued. Perhaps I was mistaken, but I was sure I heard him chuckle over the phone. Evil man. "They are very important clients, so wear those micro-mini things you always wear, stay close to me and smile prettily at them."

"What has that got to do with the meeting?!" I asked indignantly.

"Nothing," he said. "I just need you to distract them."

Then why don't you just call Inoue to come?! She was probably 100 times better at distracting 'important _male_ clients' than me! Gosh, talk about trampling on a maiden's heart!

"So don't be late, Kuchiki."

With that, he hung up without giving me another chance to protest. This man was impossible! Isn't it against the employment rules somewhere, to use a fellow _female_ employee in such ways?! I could sue him for discrimination! Or sexual harassment! Or.. Or just for being so mean…! This was the last straw. This man had to go – for many sins he'd committed, but most of all, for ruining my long-waited, well-deserved weekend rest. He was deemed unfit to live by me… It was war now.

* * *

**A/N**: Hello, dearies! I'm so sorry for the delay! It took longer than I'd expected to get this chapter out... and... is everyone enjoying the Olympics?! It's so exciting! Anyways... As always, I am very grateful for everyone who leaves a review! Thank you very much, you guys are all stars~ tell me about this one too, all kinds appreciated ;) Cheerio!


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